Monthly Archives: November 2012

Was West Brom’s defeat at Swansea such a surprise?

Posted on November 30, 2012 by

West Bromwich Albion lost 3-1 at Swansea City on Wednesday night, a result which has led to much speculation about why the performance level of the Baggies suddenly declined against an opponent they supposedly should have competed better against. Mark … Continue reading →

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How tough is Harry Redknapp’s task?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

This was written before last night’s Sunderland – QPR match. James Grayson helped me with some of the numbers and I would highly recommend his blog  QPR travel to Sunderland this evening with new manager Harry Redknapp in charge of the … Continue reading →

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Are fifth placed Feyenoord quietly developing into genuine title challengers?

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

Feyenoord’s second place in last season’s Eredivisie was their best league performance for 11 years whilst the six point deficit between them and champions Ajax was the closest that the Rotterdammers had come to winning the title since 2002/2003 when … Continue reading →

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Why are the real ‘Moneyball’ pioneers all but forgotten? Part 2

Posted on November 23, 2012 by

In 1990, a young manager outlawed his team from shooting from distance, insisted that they got the ball into the box as often as possible and made set-pieces a frightening weapon. He, like many other early pioneers are being ignored … Continue reading →

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The real story about City’s CL campaign

Posted on November 22, 2012 by

After Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Ajax on matchday 4, the general assessment was that City’s poor performances in the Champions League are manager Roberto Mancini’s fault and he needs to be replaced. Similar things are being said today after City’s … Continue reading →

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Di Matteo out but what has actually changed?

Posted on November 21, 2012 by

Clearly it is not necessary to convince any of my readers that the sacking of Di Matteo is unjust but it is always nice to look at some numbers. Around a month ago, Chelsea were top of the Premier League … Continue reading →

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Are Everton really heading for the top-4?

Posted on November 20, 2012 by

Everton have been lauded for their start this season but are they really heading for a top-4 place in the Premier League? As we have learned in earlier posts, we can compare the fixtures from this season with the exact … Continue reading →

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Why are the real ‘Moneyball’ pioneers all but forgotten? Part 1

Posted on November 18, 2012 by

In 1990, a young manager outlawed his team from shooting from distance, insisted that they got the ball into the box as often as possible and made set-pieces a frightening weapon. He, like many other early pioneers are being ignored … Continue reading →

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